Quintus Technologies Offers New Hot Isostatic Press

Quintus Technologies has introduced a new Hot Isostatic Press (HIP) that is designed to boost the additive manufacturing (AM) process by reducing the number of steps in the production line. Equipped with Quintus’ Uniform Rapid Cooling, the new model QIH 60 M URC combines heat treatment and cooling in a single process known as high-pressure heat treatment (HPHT), for faster throughput, higher work piece quality and capital investment, logistics and energy savings. The QIH 60 is a piece of equipment that will enable mass production of parts with quality and reduced cost.

Hot isostatic pressing has become a standard method to eliminate pores and remove internal defects in metal and ceramic parts, improving properties such as toughness and fatigue life. With the ability to stress relieve, heat treat and age parts in one system, Quintus HPHT allows manufacturers to consolidate several steps and remove discrete equipment from the production line.

Equipped with digital controls for precise heating and cooling performance, the new press has been designed to integrate with Industry 4.0 and factory-of-the-future connectivity. The QIH 60 operates at a maximum temperature of 1400°C (2552°F) and pressure of 30,000 psi (2,070 bar) when using the molybdenum furnace. Graphite furnace options are also available for temperatures up to 2000°C (3632°F). The working dimensions of the vessel are 410 mm (16.14-in.) in diameter and 1,000 mm (39.37-in.) in height, with a capacity of 600 kg (1,322 lbs.) per load, allowing loading of full build plates from the majority of printers.

The wire-winding technology introduced by Quintus is acknowledged as a durable pressure containment system, according to Quintus Technologies. Completely documented quality systems govern all phases of the production process and comply fully with ASME U3 and CE (PED) quality standards. 

Active controlled cooling facilitates stress relief, hot isostatic pressing, quenching and aging in the same HIP system. This capability makes the QIH 60 M URC suited for materials that require rapid cooling or quenching after annealing, according to Quintus Technologies. 

“HPHT introduces multiple efficiencies and dramatically lowers per-unit processing costs,” says Jan Söderström, CEO, Quintus Technologies. 

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.